2014 American Community Survey

The U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS) is the nation's most comprehensive survey. It provides a multitude of statistics that measure the social, economic and housing conditions of U.S. communities, including data on employment, income, poverty, and health insurance. The Census Bureau released new 2014 ACS data for the nation, all 50 states, and geographic areas with populations of 65,000 or more on September 17, 2015.

Key Findings for Minnesota in 2014

Minnesotans were more likely to have a job and health insurance-two essential elements of economic security-in 2014 than 2013, according to data released in September 2015 by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Data from the 2014 American Community Survey revealed Minnesota's uninsured rate fell sharply from 8.2% to 5.9% between 2013 and 2014, with an additional 123,000 more Minnesotans holding health insurance in the most recent year of data.

"The drop in Minnesota's uninsured residents is unprecedented in recent years, but not surprising when you consider that by 2014 most key provisions of the Affordable Care Act were in place," said Susan Brower, Minnesota State Demographer. "These high coverage rates are great for our state residents as they mean concrete benefits for health and beyond: fewer kids missing school due to asthma attacks, more preventive care and better management of chronic conditions, less uncompensated care, and far fewer people at risk of bankruptcy from medical bills."

The employment picture also brightened for many Minnesota workers in 2014 compared to the prior year. Overall unemployment for Minnesota's workers in 2014 was 4.7%, the lowest rate reported in the past six years of data.

Unemployment among Black Minnesotans fell to 13% in 2014, having fallen each year since peaking at 20% in 2011. Although Black Minnesotans were equally likely to participate in the labor force and seek work as White Minnesotans in 2014, their unemployment rate remained three times higher.

While Minnesotans' employment and health prospects improved in 2014, poverty rates and incomes for typical households showed little change. Minnesota's median household income, at $61,500 in 2014, was statistically unchanged from the 2013 figure. (Median means half of households made less annual income, while half made more.) Minnesota's households ranked 10th highest among all states for median income in 2014.

Minnesota's overall poverty rate was 11.5% in 2014, statistically unchanged from the prior year. About 611,000 Minnesotans, including 189,000 children under 18 and 56,000 older adults (65+), lived in households with annual income below the federal poverty threshold (about $24,200 for a family of four) in 2014.

Despite growth in their rates of employment, data for some populations of color continued to show widespread economic insecurity. More than 4 in 10 Black and American Indian children in Minnesota lived in poverty in 2014, as well as 3 in 10 Hispanic children.

Furthermore, the data revealed a statistically significant one-year increase in overall poverty for Black households in Minnesota, as well as a decrease in household incomes. At $27,000 annually, the median Black household income in Minnesota was lower than any other race group, and about $8,500 less than Black households nationally.

"These data are very troubling, said Brower. We don't have a complete picture yet, but we are committed to fully investigating these data to help community and policy leaders work to improve the quality of life for all Minnesota residents."

Error margins exist around data points, but are not shown. Some numbers are rounded.

The ongoing, nationwide American Community Survey provides a multitude of valuable statistics that measure the social, economic and housing conditions of U.S. communities. More than 40 topics are available with the release, such as educational attainment, housing, employment, commuting, language spoken at home, nativity, ancestry and selected monthly homeowner costs. Additional data is available through the U.S. Census Bureau's American FactFinder tool at:http://factfinder.census.gov/